QoLi: development of a quality of life survey for people who use drugs
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The impact of harm reduction services on well-being: QoLi, the development and analysis of a quality of life survey for people who use drugs.
IRAS ID
128556
Contact name
Jennifer Peacey
Contact email
Research summary
Harm reduction engages and supports people who use drugs in an unbiased and nonjudgemental
manner so they
can begin to work towards safer drug use, eventually reducing or abstaining if that is the target. Low threshold
services such as needle and syringe programmes and drug consumption rooms offer a unique opportunity to interact
with a population that may be particularly chaotic or challenging to engage.
My current research theorises that engagement with low impact harm reduction services positively impacts the quality
of life and recovery capital resources of the people accessing them. As treatment becomes more focussed on
identifying and building recovery capital and improving the overall quality of life of people who use drugs, it is important
to develop a means of measuring these concepts.
This research is about developing a psychometric tool for measuring the impact harm reduction services have on the
quality of life of people who use drugs. Aspects of recovery capital, stigma, selfesteem,
and risk behaviours are
examined in the study. Drugusing
visitors to one specialist needle and syringe service in the North West of England
will be invited to participate, and 150 respondents are expected to take part.
The domains of the survey cover various aspects of drug use such as social impact, health, risk taking and stigma.
The survey primarily targets people who inject or smoke heroin or base (crack) cocaineREC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
13/IEC08/0044
Date of REC Opinion
19 Dec 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion